Unfamiliar Territory Short and Sweet Version
by Chylea3784
Summary: Tommy gets drunk Can he handle the consequences? This is one of the stories that's been bugging me to be written. Hope you like it. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Tommy leaned back against the bar and looked around. Everywhere around him couples were laughing and dancing. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his newly married friends approach. Jason had married Kim today in a double wedding with Billy and Trini. Zack had gotten married a year ago. Now he left his very pregnant wife and joined the group.

"So" said Kim to Tommy, "when's it going to be your turn?"

"He needs a girl first," said Zack, teasing.

"Thanks so much for the reminder that I'm alone" replied Tommy dryly. "Just what I needed, Zack, really."

Trini gently laid her hand on his arm. "He doesn't mean anything by it really. You know how Zack is. We just want to see you as happy as we are."

Tommy looked at her. "I know. I'll find the right girl someday."

Billy cleared his throat. "If you never seek out recreational activities, that particular eventuality may never come to pass."

Everyone looked at Trini. She sighed. "If you don't look, you won't find."

Tommy nodded. "I know, but I have a lot of responsibilities right now. My students and Rangering take up a lot of my time."

Finally, Jason spoke. "Bro, you can't forget to take time for yourself. Even when Rita was attacking the city every other day, we found time to relax and have fun. You still need to do that too, now more than ever."

Tommy tossed back the last of his drink and signaled the bartender for another one. "I intend to have some fun tonight. I might even get in a dance or two with your wives."

"Oh no you don't!" Kim exclaimed. "You get one dance with me and one with Trini, but then you need to dance with other girls. Maybe you'll meet someone."

Tommy groaned and picked up the drink that had just been dropped by his elbow. "I will as long as you don't try any matchmaking" he told Kim.

"Deal" she replied. She smiled at her new husband. "Come dance with me."

The others drifted off, leaving Tommy alone at the bar.

**Two hours and a half a dozen drinks later**

Tommy returned from the dance floor and grabbed his drink from the bar. He sensed someone walk up to the bar next to him and looked over. A young woman stood there waiting for the bartender.

"Hello" he said.

"Hello" she replied with a smile.

"My name's Tommy - Tommy Oliver."

"Is that anything like Bond - James Bond?" she teased gently.

**The next morning**

Tommy's nose twitched. He could smell coffee and - vanilla? Puzzled, he cracked one eye open and shut it quickly. The sun was really bright this morning. He frowned. His bedroom didn't face the sunrise! Then he remembered that he had stayed in a hotel overnight for the wedding. His frown deepened. He _knew_ his hotel room didn't smell like vanilla. He turned over in the bed so the sun was behind him and opened his eyes again. He groaned as his hangover hit him like a ton of bricks. His eyes focused on a nearby chair. His clothes were neatly laid across it. Now he knew he wasn't in his hotel room. Carefully, he sat up and then padded across to the connected bathroom. He realized that he had not a stitch on and grabbed his boxers from the pile of clothes as he went by.

After he had relieved himself, he went to wash his face and caught sight of himself in the mirror. 'I could scare the hair off a cat' he thought to himself. In the reflection of the mirror, he saw a fresh towel on the vanity table. He stepped over to it and realized that there was also a disposable razor, a new toothbrush, a small bar of soap and a trial size bottle of shampoo laid out next to it. Without hesitation, he started the shower and climbed in. Fifteen minutes later, he was clean, dried, dressed and had brushed his teeth.

As he exited the bathroom, he realized that the smell of coffee was much stronger now. As he glanced around the room, he saw a cup on the nightstand that he was fairly sure hadn't been there before now. Next to the cup were a couple of aspirin. Fortunately, the healing powers from being a Ranger and a good hot shower had wiped out the worst of his hangover, but he still swallowed the pills gratefully. He hoped they would handle the rest. Once again, he surveyed the room. A woman's room, he realized. A horrible feeling crept over him.

Had he slept with some woman he didn't know? He couldn't remember. The last thing he remembered was dancing at the reception. He glanced at the door. 'No use beating around the bush' he decided. Squaring his shoulders, he opened the door and left the room. Immediately to his left was a set of stairs heading down. He took a deep breath and went down the stairs. Not unlike his own house, the stairs ended at the living room and through the open door to his right he could see the kitchen and the woman he had stayed with. Or at least the back of her. The first word that came to mind was 'medium'. Her hair was medium brown and medium long. Her figure was average. She was medium height. He took a breath and stepped into the kitchen, taking another swallow of his coffee.

"Morning" she said, her tone carefully neutral. She didn't realize that she was adding to his impression of 'medium', she just didn't know what to expect.

"Morning."

She glanced over her shoulder at him. Tommy mentally nodded. Yup, more average - more medium. Medium brown eyes and an average face.

"If you're interested, the paper is on the table. If you're hungry, I can make some breakfast."

"If you don't mind, I could use something to eat." She nodded and moved around the room collecting the things she would need. She pointed to the breakfast bar.

"Have a seat. Did you want the paper, Tommy?"

"No, thank you." He watched as she scrambled eggs and made toast and set the plate down in front of him. He picked up the fork and began to eat as she refilled his coffee and her own cup as well. He watched her as she added flavored creamer and stirred. He was desperately trying to remember her name and was coming up blank. Suddenly, he realized that she had not made herself a plate.

"Aren't you eating?" he asked.

"Been there, done that" she replied airily. She leaned back on the counter and took a drink of her coffee as she watched him continue to eat. When he finished, she spoke again. "More?"

Tommy shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm good. Can I talk you out of a little more coffee, though?"

She smiled and filled his cup once more. Silence filled the room for a long minute. Finally, Tommy dropped his gaze and spoke. "Um, I hate to have to ask this, but um, what's your name?"

Tommy fully expected tears, rage, stony silence - anything except what happened. She laughed. He looked up in surprise. She stopped quickly.

"I'm sorry" she apologized. "I'm not laughing at you. I kind of thought this might happen. I was tempted to leave my driver's license out so you didn't have to ask, but then I'd have never known for sure. You did drink quite a bit last night."

Tommy grinned sheepishly. "I don't usually do this."

"Which part? Drink a lot, go home with women you don't know or forget their names?"

"Any of it" he admitted. "No offense, but I'm not pleased with myself that it happened this time."

"None taken. If it makes you feel any better, I don't do this, either."

Tommy grinned. "Which part?"

"I don't bring home men I don't know, sleep with them and/or cook them breakfast."

Ice formed in the pit of Tommy's stomach. So they _had_ slept together. She saw the look on his face and waved it away. "Don't worry about it - your secret is safe with me. Your girlfriend or wife or whatever is a very lucky girl."

"Why would you think that I'm married or something?"

Her face reddened. "Because nobody is that good without regular practice, that's why."

Tommy blushed as well. "Um, okay. Moving on - so what's your name?"

"Would you believe it's Alexis?"

Tommy looked puzzled. "Why wouldn't I believe it?"

"No reason." Quickly, she changed the subject. "So _do_ you have a girlfriend or wife or something?"

Tommy shook his head. "I don't really have time for it. Unfortunately, I have a lot of responsibilities and not a lot of free time."

"Shame. You'll make some lucky girl very happy someday, Tommy Oliver. Now, would you like a ride somewhere or do you have nothing better to do on this fine Sunday?"

Tommy glanced at his watch. "Actually, I have a very long drive home and I need to leave by noon. If you could drop me off at my hotel, I'd really appreciate it." 'And the sooner I can get away, the sooner I can stop feeling guilty and start forgetting my screw up.'

Twenty minutes later, Alexis pulled up in front of the hotel. "Take care of yourself, Tommy."

"You too, Alexis. Thanks for everything. How much do I owe you for the bathroom stuff?"

Tommy missed the look that flashed in her eyes. "Um, Tommy? What you just did was the equivalent of leaving money by the bed." Her voice was quiet and flat.

Tommy froze in horror. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"I didn't think so, but I would suggest that you don't do that again. If the woman asks for it, that's one thing, but don't offer."

"I'm sorry. That's not what I meant at all."

"I know." Silence fell for a minute before Alexis spoke again. "$3.75 ought to do it."

He heard the laughter in her voice and looked at her. She laughed. "I'm just kidding. You don't owe me anything. Now I believe you said something about a long drive?"

Tommy thanked her again and climbed out of the car. At the door of the hotel, he turned and watched her drive away, thankful that he could put it behind him and forget.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I own nothing. I hope you all like this story. The short version has 8 chapters, but if you all like it enough, I can post a longer version - or just extend this one. Eventually, I'll post the dark version - lots of angst in that one.**

**One week later**

Tommy sat at his desk in his den trying to grade papers. In frustration, he pulled his glasses off and tossed them on his desk. He had a feeling the students would need a serious review on this material before the test on Tuesday. Just then, the phone rang. Grateful for the interruption, he reached for the phone.

"Dr. Oliver."

"I've told you a hundred times that is no way to answer your home phone, bro."

Tommy smiled. "Hey, bro. When did you guys get back from your honeymoon?"

"Just now."

"And you missed me so much you just had to call? How sweet." Tommy's voice dripped honey.

"Didn't have a choice. My loving wife wanted me to call and see if you were still mad about the teasing you got at the reception."

Tommy's smile dimmed. He had tried hard to forget the night of the reception - and the morning after, but it was hard to do. At odd times, he would have a partial memory of that lost night flash across his mind.

"Bro?" Jason's voice brought him back to the present.

"Nah. Everything's cool, I guess."

"You guess?" Tommy could hear the curiosity in the other man's voice. "What do you mean?"

Tommy sighed. "I kinda did something stupid."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Tommy told Jason what he could about the morning after the reception. "And now my memory is trying to come back, but all I want to do is forget it. It was totally out of character for me to act like that. I don't know what I was thinking."

The silence on the other end of the line stretched out so long that Tommy started to wonder if Jason had hung up. 'Not that I'd blame him.' "Um, Jase?"

"I'm here. If you really want to know, I don't think you were thinking at all."

"Thanks, bro. Just what I needed to hear."

Jason laughed. "Let me finish! It sounds to me like you were _living_ for a change - going on an impulse. Granted, you were loaded, but it seems to me it was just what you needed. Have you thought about seeing her again?"

"No. After the way I acted, I can't imagine she'd want to see me again. Besides, Alexis said -"

"Who?"

"Alexis."

Silence. "Tommy, I don't remember there being anyone named Alexis on the guest list. And Billy, Trini, Kim and I went over them pretty thoroughly before the wedding."

"Oh wonderful! So she came with someone else and left with me? Not good."

"No, you misunderstand. When we sent out the invites, there were only half a dozen or a dozen people who were invited to bring guests. Most of them were women. There was you and, like, three other guys. To the best of my knowledge, none of the guys brought a date. What's her last name?"

"I - I have no idea."

"That helps. What did she look like?"

"Average" Tommy could only come up with one other word. "Medium."

"That's not much help, bro."

"I'm telling you, this girl was the definition of average and medium. Medium brown hair, medium length, medium height -"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. How about this? Next weekend, Billy and Trini are coming over to look at the proofs from the photographer. Why don't you come out and look at them and see if you see her? If we have to, we can ask around and find out who she is."

"Yeah, that might work. Wait a minute! What difference does it make? I'm trying to forget that whole damn night, not find her again."

"Maybe if you can get to the bottom of the mystery, you'll be able to forget it. And, by the way, don't fight the memories. Remember as much as you can so you can get past it."

"If I wanted to talk to a counselor, I would have talked to Kim."

Jason laughed again. "No, you wouldn't have. You're afraid that she might have made too much out of it or slugged you for it."

"Too true" Tommy sighed again. "Okay, Jase. Evil notwithstanding, I'll be there next weekend."

"Cool. See you then."

The two men said their goodbyes and hung up. Tommy looked at the phone thoughtfully. Jason had a point. Fighting his memories was doing him no good. Suddenly, he stood up and strode out of the room.

**Two hours later**

Tommy stood slowly, blew out the candles and turned on the lights. The meditation had helped. Now that night was, for the most part, filled in. There were still a few holes. He remembered meeting her at the reception, dancing with her, going back to her house and what followed. He had to admit, the sex had been mind blowing. Just remembering it had made him hard. Somewhere along the line, he realized that she had never told him her name - at least as far as he could tell. He was slightly irritated that she had implied that he had forgotten. Soon enough, he'd know who she was and could start to forget. He frowned. He still had the feeling that he was missing something pretty important, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He hoped he'd figure it out soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**The following weekend - Friday**

Tommy arrived at Jason and Kim's house battered, bruised and exhausted. Of course Mesagog _would_ decide to send down a monster when he had a road trip to take. He knew that after a good night's sleep, he'd be fine. He pulled his bag from the back of the Jeep, headed up to the door and knocked. Moments later, Jason opened the door and pulled his best friend inside. Tommy found himself enveloped in a bear hug and couldn't help sucking in a breath. Jason released him immediately and looked at his friend carefully.

"Monster?" Jason asked, sympathetically. Tommy nodded and Jason took his bag and led him to a spare room. When Jason flipped on the light, it was all Tommy could do to keep from laughing - besides it would hurt. The room was decorated in wallpaper with pictures of teddy bears in pink, green and blue. On a corner shelf sat a large red teddy bear with a gold bow around it's neck.

"Um, bro?"

"Yeah?" Jason answered.

"What am I? Five?" Jason looked puzzled until Tommy pointed at the wallpaper. "Or do you have something to tell me?"

"Not yet. The wallpaper was here when we bought the house and Kim bought the bear a couple of weeks ago. It came to live in here for a while."

Tommy nodded and Jason pointed to a small door in the corner. "Bathroom. And dinner is in twenty minutes." Tommy nodded again and Jason left the room, pulling the door shut behind himself.

Twenty minutes and a hot shower later, Tommy made his way out to the dining room feeling better. Kim greeted him with a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek, having been warned by Jason. They sat down to dinner and chatted lightly through the meal. As Kim got up to clear the plates, she said, "By the way, Billy and Trini will be here around nine or ten tomorrow morning with the pictures."

Tommy glanced at Jason, who suddenly seemed very interested in his hands. "Do they know that I'm here to see the pictures too?"

"Yes."

"And do they know _why_?"

Now, Kim wouldn't look at him either and Tommy's face reddened. "Oh, crap."

"Don't worry about it, bro. Have you ever know Trini and Billy to judge anyone?"

"No, but -"

"But nothing!" Kim jumped in. "Don't worry about it unless or until you have to."

"All right." But Tommy felt uneasy. The people at the wedding were all friends and family and co workers of the two couples. He had the distinct feeling that this was going to bite him in the butt.

**Next morning - Saturday**

Tommy rose feeling very much himself again. The smell of coffee was drifting into the room so he dressed and exited the room quickly. As he made his way to the kitchen, he glanced at his watch. He saw that it was only 8:15 and was pleased that he had managed to get up before Billy and Trini were due to arrive. He stopped short in the doorway in dismay. He had conveniently forgotten that the two were in a habit of arriving early wherever they went. Trini spied him first.

"Good morning!" The young woman rose and crossed the room to her friend. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Tommy accepted her hug and allowed her to pull him into the room. Kim smiled at him.

"Coffee?" she offered.

"God, yes." He moved to where she pointed and found a mug waiting for him to fill it. He did and took his first sip gratefully. He then turned his attention to the two men in the room. "Morning, Jase. Morning, Billy."

Both men nodded in reply. Billy spoke next. "Heal up all right?"

Tommy stared. "A full sentence I didn't need translated? I think the question is - are you feeling okay?"

Laughter filled the kitchen. Trini pointed at a chair. "Sit there. I'm sitting on one side of you and Kim'll be on the other. That way if you find her, one of us should be able to identify her."

Red faced, Tommy did as he was told. Two hours later, they still hadn't found the mystery woman. Suddenly, Billy frowned. "Trini - have you noticed that my cousin doesn't appear to be in any of these pictures, either?"

Trini frowned and quickly flipped back through all the photos. "No, she doesn't."

"What's her name?" Tommy asked.

"Mary Jane" Billy replied.

"That name would certainly fit the girl I'm looking for - much better than Alexis."

Billy raised an eyebrow as Trini suddenly stood up. "Hang on. I'll be right back" she said. A couple of minutes later, she returned, flipping through some other pictures. Suddenly, she extracted one from the pile and held it out to Tommy. "Is that her?"

Tommy accepted the picture and stared at it - it was the mystery woman. Wordlessly, he nodded and then blanched as he realized that it was Billy's cousin he had slept with. He could almost feel the teeth marks already. Silence filled the room for a moment which was broken by Billy.

"Well, mystery solved." Everyone looked at him curiously.

"Um, aren't you going to threaten my life or something?" Tommy asked warily.

"Do you want me to?" Billy inquired calmly.

"Of course not, but -"

"She is a grown woman - able to take care of herself. This is not the olden days where family must fight for the honor of their women. Besides, the way Jason tells it, you have beaten yourself up over it quite a bit, so I don't need to."

"Um, okay."

"I am, by no means, overjoyed about it, but as for me expressing rage, it will in no way undo past events."

Everyone looked at Trini. "He's not happy about it, but getting mad won't change anything" she translated.

Just then, Tommy realized something. "She lied to me about her name! Why would she do that?"

Billy shrugged. "I am not privy to the workings and mental processes of her cerebral cortex."

Before anyone asked, Trini piped up, "He doesn't know."

Jason looked at his friend, exasperated. "Couldn't you just say that?"

"I did." Everyone laughed, except Tommy.

"I need to find her and find out why she lied to me" he said.

Billy and Trini sighed. Jason spoke up. "Why? Does it really matter?"

"Yes. I need to know why. She obviously didn't expect anything more, so why lie about it?" He turned his attention to Billy. "Does she even live in that house?"

Billy slowly shook his head. "She was house-sitting for her old roommate. She still has a room in that house and it just so happened to be the weekend of the wedding."

"Convenient" said Tommy. "So where _does _she live?"

Billy stood up, locked gazes with Tommy and spoke slowly. "Understand this - you are planning to go over there sober and therefore are responsible for your actions. If you hurt her in ANY way, I'll make sure you wish you were dealing with Zedd _and_ Rita _and_ the entire Machine Empire."

Billy waited for Tommy's nod that he understood and then looked at his wife and nodded. Trini pulled a small address book out of her purse, wrote the information on a slip of paper and gave it to Tommy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Noon - Same day**

Tommy sat in his Jeep, parked across the street and a couple of houses down from Mary Jane's. Her car wasn't there so he had to wait. He hoped that she had just run to the store and would be back soon. As he waited, he studied her house and tried to decide how to handle the situation. The house, like it's owner, wasn't spectacular. It appeared to be a small four room house, painted white with black trim. Red geraniums sat in their green pot on the porch.

He couldn't decide what he was going to say when he saw her. Finally, as he saw her car coming down the street, he decided to play it by ear. He watched as she parked her car in the driveway and exited the vehicle. He raised an eyebrow as he took in her appearance. She wore a plain black business suit with a cream colored blouse, black high heels, a green scarf, glasses and wore her hair up in a bun. As he watched, she slipped her shoes off and picked them up before going to the trunk and retrieving a briefcase. She walked up to the house and let herself in. Tommy opted to wait a few minutes before approaching the house.

Mary Jane sighed as she dropped her shoes on the mat by the door and her briefcase on a nearby chair. She absolutely _hated_ working on Saturdays, but, as usual, someone in another department had screwed something up and she had to fix it. She begin undoing her hair as she headed for her bedroom to change clothes. Five minutes later, she emerged wearing jeans and a t-shirt, no glasses, barefoot and lighting a cigarette. She made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge. As she took a drag from her cigarette, she crossed over to the CD player on the table, pressed play and flipped open the cookbook that sat next to it. She found the page she wanted and began pulling out ingredients as the music started.

Mary Jane didn't know why she was doing this to herself. She knew the thing with Tommy had been a one night stand, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. She knew she hadn't been drunk and couldn't understand what had compelled her to behave the way she had. She also couldn't understand why on earth she came home every night and played the same song on the player over and over. "If You See Him, If You See Her" was a stupid choice, she knew, but on some deep level she wished the night had been as unforgettable for him as it was for her. Mary Jane knew better. She was the forgettable type.

**Outside**

Tommy approached the house, still unsure of what he would say. As he walked up the driveway, he could hear music inside. The closer to the door he got, the clearer it became until he could make out the words as he stood on the front porch. He frowned as he listened. He recognized the song - Kira had been listening to it just last weekend. He wondered who Mary Jane was thinking of as she listened to it. Was it himself or someone else? Was that night just a rebound thing? He wished he had asked Billy more about his cousin, but it was too late now. Or was it? He hadn't knocked on the door yet so he could still slip back to his car and call him. Tommy made up his mind and headed back to his car, pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing on the way.

A few minutes later, Tommy had all the information he wanted. As far as Billy knew, Mary Jane hadn't been seeing anyone for over a year. She worked at a small publishing company as a proofreader and editor. She had a pet - a large Moluccan cockatoo.

Armed with this information, Tommy once again approached the door. He listened to the music from inside the house. This time "For My Broken Heart" was playing. He shook his head, knocked on the door, folded his arms and leaned back against the porch post in what he hoped was a casual pose.


	5. Chapter 5

**Inside**

Mary Jane frowned when she heard the knock at the door. A quick glance at the calendar showed her nothing was planned for tonight. So who was at her door? She quickly stirred the food in the pan and turned the heat down before she headed for the door. Mary Jane opened the door and stared at the man before her.

"T - Tommy! What are you doing here?" she stuttered.

"Hello, Alexis. How are you?" he answered evenly.

Mary Jane could not believe her eyes. He was here! Why? How? Belatedly, she realized he had asked her a question. "I'm fine. Um, would you like to come in?" she asked, opening the door wider.

"Thanks." Tommy stood up and walked past her into the house. He paused and surveyed his surroundings as she shut the door. Against one wall of the living room, was a huge cage - big enough to hold him and Jason - which was empty and the door was ajar. A small love seat and two armchairs surrounded a small coffee table. Against the other wall was a small entertainment center whose shelves were full of movies. The room seemed crowded, but comfortable.

"Would you like something to drink? Soda? Water?" Mary Jane asked as she led the way through to the kitchen.

"Yes, please. Water, if you don't mind." Tommy glanced around this room as well. It, too, was crowded, but not uncomfortably so. There was a back door, which was open and appeared to lead to a screened in sun porch. Tommy watched as she paused to stir the food on the stove once more and crush out a cigarette in the ashtray before she handed him a bottle of water and turned to shut off the CD player. He slowly began to realize that this house was very much like its owner - simple on the outside, but much more complex on the inside. He said nothing as he watched her add more ingredients to the pan before turning her attention back to him.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

Tommy shrugged and leaned back against the counter. "Curiosity, mostly, Alexis."

Her mouth went dry. "Um, about what?"

Tommy watched her closely as he said, "Why you lied to me about your name, for starters."

"I didn't."

"You told me your name was Alexis, but it's not, is it, _Mary Jane_?"

"No, it isn't" she agreed quietly. "I never said it was." Her quiet agreement took the wind from his sails for a moment.

"I asked you what your name was."

She interrupted. "And I asked you if you would _believe_ it was Alexis. You assumed that it was. I just never bothered to correct your assumption."

"But why?"

Mary Jane laughed, but it was a laugh without humor. "Are you kidding me? You should have seen the look on your face in the kitchen that morning. Once you realized that we had slept together, you looked like someone had just knocked the wind out of you. Right then, I knew that it didn't matter what name I gave you, because I would probably never see you again."

She turned away from him to stir the food once more and let her words sink in. She fully expected to hear the door slam and for him to be gone at any moment. After a minute, she put the spoon down and grabbed her cigarettes. She lit one and exhaled the smoke and then turned around. Surprised, she realized that he had not snuck out when her back was turned. He was looking at her calmly and had not moved an inch.

"I can understand why you might have thought that, but you were wrong about the reason. As you may recall, I told you that I don't do things like that. I was ashamed of my behavior and - at that time - what I thought was my inability to remember your name. I didn't realize until recently that I never knew your name in the first place."

This reminded her of another part of the puzzle. "So then how did you find me?"

Tommy smiled. "We met at a wedding reception. Either we both knew someone there or you crashed it. I know I didn't."

Just then a memory clicked in the back of her mind. "Oh my god. You aren't that Tommy, are you? Their friend from high school?"

Tommy chuckled. "I'm afraid so."

Mary Jane took a drag from her cigarette and shook her head. "He's gonna kill me."

Tommy looked surprised. "Who, Billy? I doubt it. As it is, he threatened me when I said something about coming to see you."

She looked up, doubtful. "Really. That doesn't sound like Billy. He always spoke of you like you were some kind of god or something."

Tommy grinned. "Interesting. I'll have to ask him about that later, but first things first."

She sighed heavily. "What do you want to know?"

"What's your real name?"

"Mary Jane Dowd."

"Okay. Why were you playing broken heart songs when I got here?"

Her face reddened. She reached over to turn off the stove as she answered him. "I have a crush on a guy I met fairly recently. I'm not his type so it'll never happen."

"How do you know you're not his type?"

"Because he's one of those perfect people that seems to not have any flaws. Athletic, handsome, intelligent, sense of humor. Then there's me. There is nothing about me that stands out. I'm not anything special one way or the other - not fat, not thin, not beautiful, not ugly, mouse brown hair and eyes to match. I'm just so average I kind of fly under the radar, so to speak."

"You have a sense of humor and your eyes are really expressive. You haven't deluded yourself into believing that you're something you're not. Those things are important, too."

Mary Jane stared at him. "You're kidding me right?"

"Nope. Looks aren't everything."

"Says the man who has them."

"Besides, you said he'd never be interested? First of all, never is a long time and second, if he'd never be interested, he's probably too stupid to tie his own shoes." Tommy caught her glance and looked in the same direction. He realized that she had checked out his shoes and grinned. He was wearing boots. A suspicion crept into his mind. "So how long did you say you've been crushing on this guy?"

She hesitated. "Actually, I never really said. I just said it was fairly recently."

"Uh huh." Tommy changed the subject. "By the way, how did you manage to avoid being in all the wedding pictures?"

Mary Jane grinned. "I've become a master of it after all these years. Besides, when you grow up with the nickname of 'Plain Jane', you don't exactly volunteer to be in pictures."

"Fly under the radar?"

"You betcha. I'm the only ninja of my kind."

"The only one? That would make you collectable."

She laughed. "What, like Beanie Babies? No, thank you. Not enough air in those little boxes."

Tommy laughed with her. He realized that he was flirting and he didn't care. He was starting to see the person she obviously tried so very hard to hide from the world. He liked the person he was finding. He was startled when a scream suddenly came from the sun porch. Mary Jane stopped laughing and headed for the door. "I'll be right back."

A minute later, he could hear her talking to someone. "Have you lost your mind? You know better than that, Alexis Michelle! You leave the neighbor's cat alone!"

A voice screamed back. "No! No, no, no, no!"

"Exactly. No cat! Hey, Patty! Is the cat okay?"

Farther away came the answer. "Just another notch out of his ear. He'll be fine. I swear he'll die by stupidity before anything else - including that monster of yours."

Mary Jane laughed. Tommy heard the outside door shut as she continued talking. "Allie, we've got company so you be good."

"Good girl."

Mary Jane poked her head into the kitchen. "Um, you're not afraid of animals, are you?"

"Not usually. Why?"

Mary Jane stepped into the room. Perched on her arm, was the cockatoo that Billy had told him about. The bird was fully the size of a small falcon or a very large parrot. The feathers were a pale peach-pink and as the animal caught sight of him, the crest on her head rose. "This is the real Alexis."

"She's beautiful."

The bird cocked her head. "Pretty bird?" she said hopefully.

Mary Jane answered. "Yes, pretty, pretty bird. Will you stay on your perch while I finish dinner?"

The bird bobbed her head that Tommy took to mean 'yes'. Mary Jane put her on a perch in the corner of the kitchen. Alexis said, "Treat?"

"No. No treat. You attacked the cat again." The bird fluffed her feathers in annoyance and turned her back on the humans.

"Again? That scream was the cat?"

Mary Jane sighed. "I apparently have the only ninja bird in existence, as well. She likes to sneak up on the cat when he comes into the yard. Sometimes I'm surprised he has ears left. Oh by the way, she might decide to fly over to you. Don't flinch or she might accidentally bite you."

"Okay, I'll try to keep that in mind."

"Do you want to stay for dinner? There's plenty."

"If you don't mind. So tell me more about yourself."

"There's not really much to tell. I work for a small publisher with about half a dozen other people. I kind of do it all. Um, I like movies, books, plays - well sometimes - shooting pool and throwing darts. I hate shopping, vain people and idiots. I also hate having to fire people, but someone has to do it. Come to think of it, I hate hiring people too. What about you?"

"I'm a high school science teacher and I have a degree in paleontology - a doctorate. I used to race cars while I was in college. I live in Reefside. I like the same things you do and I enjoy a wide variety of music. One of my students has a band that plays at the local coffeehouse twice a month and I often go to hear her play."


	6. Chapter 6

Tommy's only warning that Alexis was coming was the sound of the single flap of wings it took her to bridge the gap between them. He remembered the warning and froze. A moment later, he felt the bird's weight settle on his shoulder. He felt her feet flex on his shoulder and gritted his teeth as her nails dug in. When she relaxed her grip, he breathed a sigh of relief. Mary Jane glanced over her shoulder at the sound.

"Alexis! You are supposed to be on your perch, young lady. Do you want to go into your cage?"

Alexis stepped closer to Tommy's head and leaned against him gently. Mary Jane's lip quivered with the effort not to laugh. "Don't you go kissing up to him, either! He can't save you."

The bird made soft clicking noises and nuzzled his temple. Mary Jane couldn't contain herself any longer and started laughing. "You flirt! Come here!"

Finally, Tommy spoke. "If you don't mind, she can stay while you finish dinner. I don't mind."

Just then the bird leaned down and made the clicking noise again. Tommy was puzzled.

Mary Jane grinned again. "She wants kisses. If you want to, just turn your head and pucker your lips."

Tommy looked at the large beak dubiously. "Like this." Mary Jane stepped over to the bird and puckered her lips. Alexis leaned over and pressed her beak to Mary Jane's lips. She kissed the bird's beak and stepped back, her heart racing at having been so close to Tommy. She watched as the bird turned to Tommy. Tommy hesitated for a second and did as Mary Jane had done. The bird straightened up, satisfied.

"She looks like she could do some damage with that beak of hers" he said.

"Oh, she can. See these marks on my hands? I got them from her."

"But she doesn't seem dangerous."

"She's not. They are from her, but they're my fault. I fully believe that no animal attacks without a reason. I should have known better."

Mary Jane began transferring food to serving dishes and moving it to the table as well as setting it. When she was finished, she reached out to take the bird. "Come on, Alexis. Dinner time."

"Dinner time" echoed the bird. Mary Jane took the bird out to her cage and secured the door with a lock.

"You lock the door?"

"I have to. Otherwise, she'll just let herself out. I'll show you later. Let's eat."

As they ate, they continued to talk and get to know each other. Both of them enjoyed the meal immensely. Mary Jane got up and cleared the table when they had both had enough. Tommy started to rise to help, but she waved him back into his seat and continued the conversation. As she was finishing, the phone rang and she went to answer it.

"Hello?"

Tommy looked up at the sudden silence that filled the kitchen. Mary Jane was trying desperately not to laugh. When she finally spoke, she had herself under control.

"Yes, Billy. No, everything's fine." She lit a cigarette and grinned wickedly. "Hang on a sec, Billy."

Swiftly, she pushed the mute button and turned to Tommy. "Are you up for playing a little joke on my dear cousin?"

"What kind of joke?" he asked warily.

"Quick - yes or no?"

Tommy thought quickly. "Why not?"

"Then play along." She grinned at him as she unmuted the phone. "You still there? Yeah, sorry." She shifted the phone away from her mouth slightly. "Ooh, Tommy, stop that, I'm on the phone."

Suddenly, Tommy grinned. Quietly, he said, "How far do you want to take this joke?"

Her grin widened. _As far as we can._ She mouthed the words to him before grabbing a pad and pen from the drawer. _As far as we can - especially since I think he's got me on speakerphone._ Tommy read the note and laughed quietly to himself. If he was going to get the crap beat out of him, he wanted to thoroughly have earned it. Quickly, he stood and moved behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Just in time for her to say, "Well, he's standing right here. Say hello, Tommy." She held up the phone.

"Hello."

She took the phone back. "See?"

Tommy grinned wickedly. He spoke in an undertone that he knew would carry to the phone. "Come back to bed. I'm not through with you yet."

He could feel her shoulders shake with suppressed mirth. She covered the phone loosely with her hand. "You're insatiable. Three times isn't enough for you?"

Tommy almost lost it. "But why stop at three when we can have four - or five - or six?" His voice changed to a low growl. "I have all kinds of ideas we haven't tried yet."

At that moment, Tommy remembered all that they had already done. His body reacted. He was brought back to the present by what she was saying on the phone. "Billy, do we really need to have this talk right now?" Her voice was breathless. "I'm a little busy. Okay, later then. Bye." Just before she clicked off the phone, she said, "Your turn now."

As soon as the phone disconnected, they both started laughing as hard as they could. When they could finally speak, Mary Jane gasped, "Oh god! That was great! Either he's on his way over here right now, or he's being held back by his wife and friends."

Tommy glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes. Either he'll be here or he'll call back."

"Do you want to continue the little joke if he does call back?"

Tommy shrugged. "Why not? If he's gonna kill me, I might as well earn it."

Tommy saw something flash across her face, but it was gone before he could identify it. Her expression turned thoughtful. "You know, we could continue this even if he does show up."

Tommy looked at her carefully. He could see the gleam of mischief in her eyes. "How?"

"Follow me." Mary Jane crushed out her cigarette and led him to her bedroom. She opened the closet and pulled out her bathrobe and tossed it on the bed. He continued to follow her as she went to the guest bedroom. From the closet, she pulled out a man's robe, tossed it on the bed and began to dig in the bottom dresser drawer. Finally, she stood up holding a pair of shorts and a pair of sweat pants. "Your choice."

Tommy looked slightly puzzled, so she explained. "If and when he shows up, you could slip in here and throw on either the sweats or the shorts and robe. Then just toss your clothes in my room -"

Tommy caught on. "And you'll have on your robe, so it looks like he caught us in the middle of something."

"Exactly."

Tommy mulled this over for a moment. "And when he tries to kill me?"

"Nah, never happen. I won't let it. I'll tell you something, Tommy Oliver. Tonight, I learned that you aren't the person I thought you were - and that's a good thing. I like you and I take care of what I like."

From the other room, Alexis spoke. "Get a room."

The pair began laughing again as they made their way back to the kitchen. Finally, Tommy spoke again. "If you don't mind my asking, where did you get the men's clothes?"

"Well, I bought the robe for me originally. I couldn't find any women's robes I liked - too frilly and impractical for a woman with no one to seduce. A couple of months ago I found the one in my room. I decided it couldn't hurt to keep the other one. The sweats are mine too, but the shorts I think are Billy's - or Jack's. Jack is a buddy of mine who recently married the love of his life. He house sat for me while I was at the wedding. We've been friends since we were kids. He left a few things behind when he went home. Odds are, he'll come over in a few days to get his stuff - or his wife will."

Tommy grimaced. "I just realized I'm going to get the grilling of my life when I go back to Jason's."

"Why do you have to go back?"

"I was staying there this weekend and my stuff's there."

Mary Jane bit her lip as she thought. "I have an idea, but it hinges on how far we want to take this joke."

Tommy raised an eyebrow and waited. Finally, she spoke again. "You could stay here. That way you could run and get your stuff just before you have to go home and there's no time for the third degree."

"But leaves them with the illusion that I spent the night with you."

"Well, you would be, just not the way they think."

Tommy moved back to his seat as he mulled this over. Slowly, he spoke. "That might be taking the joke a little too far. I know that Billy's the calm type, but he also knows that I have to go home soon. I don't think he'd take it too well if he thought I was going to sleep with you and then just up and leave." Tommy blushed. "I did that once. He was willing to let that one go because I was drunk. He's pretty much said he'll kill me if I hurt you."

Tommy's cell phone rang. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID. _Jason_ it read. He grinned. "But there's nothing wrong with keeping it up a little longer." He answered the phone just before it went to his voice mail.

He growled into the phone, a little breathless, "This had better be good, or someone's going to die."

Mary Jane clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Tommy grinned at her as he listened to Jason.

"Bro, do you have a death wish? He warned you very clearly before you left."

"He said IF I hurt her. Believe me, bro, I'm doing anything but hurting her."

Swiftly, Mary Jane crossed the room and hung on Tommy's shoulder. "Please, baby, don't stop. I'm so close."

Her breath ghosted across his neck and he shivered. It was all he could do to listen to Jason. "I don't think you'll get out of it that way. You know he can talk circles around all of us."

"Yeah, and he also said that she was a grown woman and able to take care of herself."

"That's what Trini said and somehow I don't think it was a real convincing argument."

Mary Jane let out a low moan. Tommy bit back a chuckle. "Jase, I'd love to continue this conversation, I really would, but I'm kinda busy. You can either hold the phone until I'm done or you can hang up and talk to me later."

"Just wanted to warn you. Later." The call disconnected and the mischievous pair exploded with laughter.

"I'll pay for that later" Tommy said, wiping his eyes.

"Me, too" Mary Jane agreed as she wiped her eyes as well. "But it'll be worth it."

Tommy turned his head to look at her and felt his stomach tighten. At that moment, he wanted her - more than anything he'd ever wanted anything in his life. Her eyes sparkled at him and her face was alight with humor. Before he could change his mind, he kissed her. He was completely unprepared for the fire that raced through him, making his blood boil.


	7. Chapter 7

Mary Jane closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss. She had been surprised, but she quickly became a willing participant. In that moment, she realized that she wasn't crushing on Tommy - she loved him. She offered no resistance when he reached around and pulled her into his lap. Sitting as she was, she could feel how much he wanted her. She almost purred when his hands began to stroke up and down her spine. She began running her hands across his shoulders and arms.

When she lightly stroked her fingers across his neck, he shivered again and kissed her harder. His tongue stroked gently across her lips as he sought to deepen the kiss. She responded immediately and the flames burned even hotter. Without breaking the kiss, she shifted on his lap, so that she now straddled his legs and the proof of his arousal was pressed against her. Both groaned at the contact, in spite of the clothes still between them.

Tommy slid his hands around to her front and stopped just under her breasts. Without a word, she broke the kiss, pulled his shirt off and then her own. She pressed her lips to his once more, moaning when he stroked his thumbs across her hardened buds. She reciprocated the gesture, smiling against his lips when he responded with a moan of his own. Once more, she broke the kiss and gasped for air. She began to kiss and nip at his neck, until she found the spot that had made him shiver before. He slid his arms around her and pressed her hips even closer. He lost contact with reality and once again brought his hands to her front - this time to the top of her jeans.

One quick pull was all it took to unsnap them and another second had the zipper undone. He slid his hand inside and touched her gently. She sucked in a breath and moaned again as he continued to touch her. Her head fell back as her arousal grew. He could feel how much she wanted this, too. He leaned forward and pressed kisses all over her breasts, stopping every now and then to feast on the rosy centers. She squirmed delightfully against him each time he did. Suddenly, he felt her body tense and he knew she was very close. He doubled his efforts and in no time, he felt her reach her peak as she cried out.

Quickly, he stood them both up and pulled her jeans and panties off. He was beyond thinking now. He lowered her gently to the table behind her and quickly kicked off his boots and shed his jeans and boxers. He positioned himself and, as he leaned forward and kissed her, thrust his hips forward. Mary Jane wrapped her legs around him and urged him on. Somewhere in his mind, Tommy knew he had found heaven. Harder and faster he went until they both cried out and went over the edge together.

Several minutes later, when they had both caught their breath, Tommy lifted his head. She smiled at him and he smiled back. He stood and pulled her into his arms. She felt so right in his arms, he could hardly believe it. Somehow, he knew that she was the one he had been waiting for. But did she feel the same?

Mary Jane pulled back slightly and kissed him gently. It was short, but sweet. After a minute, she stepped back and looked around the kitchen. Clothes seemed to be everywhere in the small room. "Ye gods. It looks like there was an orgy in here!" she said in disbelief.

Tommy laughed and grabbed his boxers. "I think an orgy requires more than two people. I wouldn't have wanted more than two people."

"Hah, I've got you beat. I only wanted one people."

Tommy laughed again. "You know what I meant." They dressed, stealing kisses from time to time. Mary Jane made a pot of coffee. They took their steaming mugs and went to the living room. Mary Jane unlocked Alexis' cage and joined Tommy on the couch. He held his arm up in silent invitation and she slipped under it and snuggled up to his side. They sat in comfortable silence, drinking their coffee.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Last chapter! Hope you all liked the story. Let me know either way.**

Tommy was wrestling with another problem. Should he tell her that he was a Ranger? He knew that he wanted her in his life, but while he was a Ranger, it could be dangerous for her. Instinct said he should trust her, but years of caution made the decision difficult. His phone rang again. This time, the caller ID read _Kim_. Mary Jane glanced at the screen.

"Why not just put it on speakerphone and we'll have them do the same and end the joke now?"

Tommy nodded and answered it on speaker. "Hello?"

Kim's voice seemed to fill the little room. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Are Billy and Trini still there?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Get everyone in the same room and put your phone on speaker. I only want to have to say this once."

A minute later, Kim spoke again. "Okay, go ahead."

"Guys, it was a joke. We were kidding."

Mary Jane spoke up. "It was my idea. Tommy just went along with it. I did it to tease Billy. I didn't realize he'd get in such a lather over it."

When Billy spoke, his voice was unusually low and dangerous sounding. "Mary Jane Elizabeth Nicole Dowd - that was not funny."

"Oh don't get your boxers in a twist, cousin. If we'd actually been screwing like bunnies, do you really think I'd have answered the phone? Talk about tacky."

Jason spoke up. "And when I called?"

"Same thing, bro. As she said - do you think I'd have answered the phone, either?"

"Depends on who calls, now doesn't it?" Jason replied. "After all, there are just some calls you can't ignore, right?"

"Which reminds me. I was trying to decide what to do about that particular aspect, but I kind of need Billy's input."

"If you are asking what I think you are asking, you have nothing to worry about. Safer than Fort Knox, if you know what I mean."

"Thanks."

"Mary Jane - remember what you taught me about payback. I'll talk to you later."

Everyone said their goodbyes and hung up. Tommy took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you. I really lo- like you a lot. I want to have a relationship with you, but I can't do it without telling you something very important so you can decide fairly."

"Oh god, you are married."

"No."

"Engaged? Dating?"

"No and no."

"Well, then, unless you're some kind of freak that likes to bite the heads off of bats, I think we'll be able to figure it out."

Tommy stood up and paced for a minute. Finally, he turned to face her. "I told you I'm a high school teacher. That's true, but I'm something else as well." He took another deep breath. "I'm also a Power Ranger."

Mary Jane just stared at him for a minute. Then she grinned. "Thank god! I thought you were going to tell me you were a male stripper or something and selling your body to pay off your college debts."

"I'm serious, Mary Jane."

"I know. I just need a minute to wrap my head around this." Tommy waited while she thought about what he said. After a few minutes, she said, "Okay, tell me the rest of it."

"The rest of it?"

"There has to be more to it than that. There's a reason you brought it up and think it's so important."

"As a Ranger, anyone close to me could be a target."

"Ah hah. Now we're getting to it. So the bad guys know your identity and they might try to use me as leverage. Got it. Not that it matters, but which one are you?"

"Black Dino Ranger."

"Okay. Knew you had to be one of the current ones, since you said 'am' not 'was'. So what you're telling me is that if I'm with you, I would have to put up with you having to run off at a moment's notice and put yourself into all kinds of danger to make sure the world stays safe. In addition, I also have to keep it secret, possibly cover for you, and accept the fact that, because I am associated with you, I'd be in perpetual danger too. Is that right?"

Tommy's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Pretty much."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Tommy was confused.

"Okay. I understand the risks. Now, please, tell me there are perks."

"Besides saving the world? Faster healing and recovery time. I can turn invisible when I'm not morphed. Help me out here. I'm not sure what you're looking for."

"Actually, I was looking for a perk for me. I don't want to sound like a witch or anything, but all I've heard are the downsides."

Tommy thought for a minute. "I can come up with two possibilities. They're lame, but they're all I've got. One, black spandex. And two, I remind you of the faster recovery time. That applies when I'm not morphed, too, and not just for injuries."

Mary Jane pondered this for a minute and then her eyes flew to his face. She raised an eyebrow. Tommy grinned at her. "Thought a smart girl like you would figure it out."

Mary Jane nodded. "Then my next question will have to be, how do we go about keeping me safe? As far as I'm concerned, if it's a choice between saving me or saving the world, the world has to come first. But if we can find a way to keep from having to make that choice, I'm all for that."

"We'll think of something" Tommy promised. "At the very least, some kind of tracking device so that if you are captured, I and the other Rangers can find you."

"Okay. Now, the Ranger thing aside, how do we make this work? Obviously, you can't move here. Long distance relationship?"

Tommy sat down and thought. Mary Jane stood up and paced. As she did, she picked up the mugs, took them to the kitchen, filled them, grabbed her cigarettes, lit one and returned to the living room. As she started to hand Tommy his mug, she had an idea.

"You know," she began, "I have quite a bit of vacation time stored up. I could take it and come to Reefside, rent an apartment and we could see how it goes."

"You'd be safer at my place."

"Why, Dr. Oliver, are you asking me to move in with you?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Yes. It makes the most sense, after all."

"Wait. Are you asking me to move in because it would be practical or because you want me there?"

"Both, but mostly because I want you there."

"Good answer. Now, as far as I can see, that just leaves us with just one possible problem. Alexis."

Both of them turned and looked at the bird sitting proudly on the top of her cage. Tommy rose and crossed the room to the cage. "What do you think, Alexis? Do you want to move in with me, too?"

The bird cocked her head and looked at him for a moment, then spoke. "Tommy's girl?"

Mary Jane's mouth fell open and she blushed furiously. She knew that Tommy didn't have any way of knowing that one of the songs she had played almost constantly the last two weeks was "Bobby's Girl". She had just substituted Tommy's name in the lyrics when she had sung it. Obviously, Alexis picked it up. Tommy looked at Mary Jane. "Is that a yes?"

"Um - I guess so. If you don't mind."

"I don't mind. What's wrong? Your face is all red and you look like you're going to faint."

Without a word, Mary Jane went to the kitchen. Tommy followed and stopped in the doorway. Mary Jane turned the CD player on and skipped past the two songs he had heard and two he hadn't. When she came to the fifth song, she let it play. As it played, she lit a new cigarette. Tommy recognized the song as one his parents had listened to. Something from the 60s, if he remembered correctly.

When the song reached the chorus, he suddenly understood. She had changed the lyrics and Alexis learned them. It _was_ him that she'd been thinking of as she had listened to that disc. Alexis piped up again. "Tommy's girl."

"You were crushing on - me?" he asked. Mary Jane took a drag off her cigarette and nodded, staring at the floor, her face bright red. He spoke again. "Would it make you feel any better if I told you I've been thinking about you for the last two weeks, too?"

Mary Jane closed her eyes. "Don't lie to me, please. I couldn't handle it."

Tommy crossed the floor, took the cigarette from her, crushed it out and tipped her chin up until she could see his eyes. "I'm not lying."

She studied him for a long time. "You're not?"

He smiled gently. "No. I'm not."

She smiled back uncertainly. "So you don't think I'm an idiot?"

"If you are, then I am."

"That seems fair." Suddenly, she kissed him. Without hesitation, he kissed her back.

When they came up for air, Tommy grinned at her. "So how soon can you move in?"

"I'll ask for my vacation time on Monday. I'll probably have to work this week, so - next weekend?"

"Perfect."

"When do you have to go back?"

"School holiday. I don't have to leave until Monday afternoon."

She looked away. "Um if you want to, you could get your stuff and stay with me until then."

"Maybe you'd better come with me just in case Billy tries to kill me."

She grinned. He couldn't understand how he thought that anything about this girl was average. "Odds are, he'll try to kill me" she replied. "It was my idea, after all."

"I won't let him."

"Then we'll both be safe because I won't let him hurt you, either. Let me put Alexis back in her cage and let's go."

One hour and a car ride later, they were headed back to Mary Jane's house and making plans for the future.

**The End**


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